Category Archives: Banning People

The library’s last column asked the public for research assistance on the area in west Banning known as the “Grove.” According to the Tom Hughes book, the “History of Banning and the San Gorgonio Pass,” the American Eucalyptus Company in 1908, bought 200 acres from C. O. Barker ”west of town with 100 shares of…

Because of the location of the Pass between Los Angeles and the Desert resort areas, Beaumont and Banning were natural stopovers for those traveling between the two areas. Before the completion of the I-10 Freeway travelers were forced into the downtown areas as the highway stopped along the main intersections. It would be more difficult…

One of the earliest photographers we can account for in Banning was Hugh W. Allen. His stamp is printed on several of the early photographic postcards we have in the library’s photograph collection. We were unable to determine the exact location of his studio but Mr. Allen was evidently one of the principal photographers in…

We have had numerous inquiries at the library about the St. Boniface Indian/Industrial School which was located on West Gilman Street in Banning, just west of 8th Street. A visible reminder today of St. Boniface is the line of olive trees extending north from Gilman Street. The trees at one time bordered the drive to…

What does a frog, a lizard and a shoe have in common? La Chancla (the “Shoe”), El Sapo (the “Frog”), and El Lagartijo (the “Lizard”) were all historic barrios in Banning with roots established as early as the 1880s. The Southern Pacific Railroad was constructed through Banning in 1875 and 1876 and much of the…

Urban legends are a form of contemporary folklore, with the stories often having elements of horror, humor, or mystery tinged with an element of fear. Familiar urban legends speak of giant alligators living in the sewers of cities or tell stories of vanishing ghost hitchhikers along the highway. Urban legends are rarely traceable to a…